Technical Writing Programs – Sacramento State Technical Writing Certificate Program

You do not necessarily need a certificate to find a job as a technical writer. However such a certificate of course never hurts; it only helps, especially if you’re new to the business.

There are dozens of colleges across the United States that offer such a certificate. Sacramento State College of Continuing Education in California is one of them.

Did you know that “technical writing and communication is one of the ten fastest growing fields both in the Sacramento area and the nation,” and that the “salary estimates for the Sacramento region range from entry-level positions at $40,000-$45,000 to $75,000+ for publication managers”?

The students enrolled in the Sacramento certificate program are required to take seven online courses, plus a Final Project:

1. Introduction to the Technical Writing Certificate Program
2. Principles of Usability
3. Project Communication
4. Project Planning and Research
5. Technical Concepts and Tools
6. Technical Writing and Editing
7. Writing for the Web
8. Final Project

The course are prepared with the participation of the Sacramento chapter of the Society of Technical Communication (STC). The STC-member students get 10{40f8b9e939a1f8880e4e068699181ea0c065f7fafc0e6f64c88497a3f07e42aa} discount.

An up-close look at some of the courses tells me that this program indeed teaches skills that are immediately applicable in real-world technical communication situations.

For example, let’s take the course “Technical Concepts and Tools” and look at it’s course description:

“Learn about network protocol, database interface, programming languages and program logic constraints. Gain experience with desktop publishing applications and evaluating graphical user interface tools.”

This is a two-for-one kind of class. You not only learn the basic terminology of a hi-tech software and networking environment but also learn about DTP applications and related tools. There’s lots of practical hands-on value built in right there.

If you live close to Sacramento this is one qualified program you might want to inquire for more information.